Looking for a Romantic Reprieve? Visit One of These Luxurious European Hotels.

For jetsetters who like to sleep in style, there’s something undeniably seductive about Europe’s grand hotels. Whether you’re attracted by an historic setting, distinctive architecture or the echoed whispers of crowned heads that may have shared your bed, read on for a sampling of the Old World’s most amorous offerings. (Editor’s note: all prices have been converted to U.S. dollars and are estimates subject to the current exchange rates).

Hotel Caesar Augustus: Capri, Italy
On Capri, sunset isn’t just a quotidian occurrence: it’s a theatrical event. Thanks to a cascade of west-facing terraces at the Hotel Caesar Augustus, guests have the best seats on the island. Reclining on a cushioned chaise lounge just wide enough for two, fix your rapt gaze upon the red, retiring orb as it sets the drifting clouds aflame. Across the Bay of Naples, Mount Vesuvius looms in the distance, its vast purple bulk gradually swallowed by the encroaching darkness as bright pinpricks of light appear in an inky black sky. Swathed in shades of Italian sunshine, this Relais & Chateaux perches upon a bluff 1,000 feet above the bay in the village of Anacapri, overlooking the mainland’s Amalfi Coast and buzzing Capri town down below.

There’s an elegant bar and lounge with a fireplace that crackles on cool evenings, a cozy library and a candlelit restaurant surrounded by low stone walls. But ultimately it’s those multi-level terraces, which sweep up a two-tiered infinity pool and manicured garden as they spill down the hill that will lure you to this cliff-top siren. Some patios are large and welcoming, while others are seductively snug. With such gracious outdoor space servicing just 55 rooms and suites, even in the height of the season, it’s easy enough to find a secluded getaway for amoré.

Rates: “Royal Honeymoon” package (from $3,378 for two nights) includes champagne, flowers and gift upon arrival, in-room daily breakfast, gourmet dinner (excluding beverages), private tour of the island, serenade, and transfer from and to the port of Capri. Rooms from $585. www.caesar-augustus.com

Cotswold House: Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England
When you check into Cotswold House in Chipping Campden, nestled amidst a part of the English countryside fabled for its honeyed-stone houses and sheep-studded fields, you might actually find yourself hoping for one of the U.K.’s notoriously wet, inclement days. A light misting rain presents the perfect excuse for relaxing on a sofa beside a roaring fire in the cocktail lounge, with its warm red walls, a gilded mirror to reflect the light and a decadent selection of whiskies behind the small, curving bar — if you can be tempted beyond the cozy confines of your room, that is.

Cotswold House encompasses 30 surprisingly sleek, contemporary rooms and suites, which are tucked into an early 19th-century Regency Townhouse, an adjacent wing and a cluster of cottages and a17th-century school in the gardens. Amenities vary from room to room. Hidcote Cottage, for instance, encompasses a private garden and hot tub, while the Sezincote Suite features a secluded patio, fireplace and three flat-screen televisions, including one in the bathroom, which is dominated by an egg-shaped marble tub-for-two. With the touch of a switch, you can change the lighting from bright and practical to a scene that is as soft as candlelight. With a choice of two restaurants — a casual brasserie and the elegant Juliana’s, overseen by former National Chef of the Year Steve Love — plus plans for a spa opening in late 2009, you may never feel the need to venture beyond the hotel.

Rates: “Suite Dreams Package” (from $1,133) includes a suite with fireplace, complimentary mini bar and TV in the bathroom; “Pamper Hamper” with bath oils, body crème, scented candle, Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries; couples massage; dinner served in-suite for two or at Juliana’s; and Champagne breakfast. Rooms from $226. www.cotswoldhouse.com

Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière: Paris, France
Ooh, la, la, how’s this for service? Minutes after checking into Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière, your butler arrives with complimentary cocktails, which you and your sweetheart savor while exploring your chic accommodations: the tufted silk headboard, the mosaic-tiled rain shower, the LCD television mounted above the bathtub. This luxe hotel, which opened its 67 rooms and 40 suites in 2006, also boasts a coveted location at the junction of the Champs-Élysées and Avenue George V, an 8,600-square-foot spa, and glamorous décor awash in plush velvet, embroidered leather and mahogany and shark skin-accented furnishings. You’ll feel like a 1930s silver screen diva striding through the lobby with its Louis XV-style gilded sofa, golden gossamer drapes, and a curved marble staircase leading toward the Le Diane restaurant, with its upholstered silk ceiling and purple banquettes.

Rates: “Paris C’est L’Amour” experience ($2,176 per night with two night minimum) gives couples an opportunity to recreate Robert Doisneau’s famous photo Le Baiser (The Kiss) with a one-hour photo shoot with a professional photographer (after a makeup session, to be sure you look parfait.) This package also includes a chauffeured nighttime tour of Paris, welcoming caviar and Champagne, daily breakfast, a Champagne dinner at Le Diane, and transportation to and from the airport. Rooms from $966. www.fouquets-barriere.com

Ashford Castle: Western Ireland
A commanding presence upon the shores of County Mayo’s Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle is the kind of fortress you might have imagined as a child, complete with ivy-covered walls and crenellated towers from which Rapunzel could unfurl her golden braids. Imposing stone archways straddle the drive, and glinting suits of armor guard the door to the castle itself. But inside, this 83-room hotel is far from intimidating or austere.

Dressed in warm rich tones, flocked fabrics and tufted leather, the former home of the Guinness family (yes, as in the beer) is a welcoming womb of luxury that has hosted luminaries like Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco, Ronald Reagan, U2, Jack Nicholson, Sharon Stone, Brad Pitt and Pierce Brosnan, who held his wedding reception here in 2001. The Castle, which was founded in the 13th century, governs 350 acres and offers activities like fly fishing, clay target shooting, golf and boat tours. Knights in shining armor can buff up their skills with classes in archery, falconry and horseback riding, and damsels who wish to de-stress may decamp to the spa, where services include massage, facials, body polishing, tanning, manicures and waxing.

Rates: “Valentine’s Package” (from $714 per person for two nights, Feb. 13 and 14) includes daily full Irish breakfast, dinner in the George V dining room (named for another famous guest), a dozen roses, and a bottle of Canteneur Champagne. Internet B&B rates from $153 per person. www.ashford.ie

The Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa: Interlaken, Switzerland
Sipping Champagne while watching paragliders descend against a backdrop of snow-capped peaks, it’s hard to tear yourselves away from your private balcony at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa. Tucked between two glacial blue lakes, nearly every one of the 212 guest accommodations features a postcard-worthy prospect of the Alps, offering lovers a good excuse to stay cocooned in their luxurious room. With a pedigreed guest list dating back to Mark Twain, the hotel first threw open its doors in 1865, and many public spaces — such as the Versailles ballroom and the Brasserie restaurant — still embrace the Belle Époque. But the gilded glory of the 19th century is elegantly juxtaposed against the soothing, almost futuristic design of a 60,000-square-foot ESPA, featuring a 65-foot swimming pool, two whirlpools, Turkish steam room, saunas and 16 treatment rooms. Every grande dame should aspire to age as gracefully as this timeless Swiss beauty.

Rates: “Victoria-Jungfrau Royal” package (two nights from $915 per person) offers Champagne, fruit, flowers, tea service and pastries, and a horse-drawn carriage ride through Interlaken. Hotel amenities include a Jaguar XJ for VIP transfers and test-drives, many rooms with balconies, tennis courts, two bars and four restaurants (two of which earned 15 and 16 points from Gault Millau). Rooms from $625. www.victoria-jungfrau.ch

The Balmoral: Edinburgh, Scotland
The Balmoral is more than a hotel; it’s a landmark and integral part of the Edinburgh skyline since 1902. With its seven-story stone façade, crowned by an illuminated clock tower, little from the outside seems to have changed over the past 100 years — including the traditional dress of the doorman, who greets guests in a handsome kilt. But inside, a $14-million dollar makeover by Olga Polizzi of Rocco Forte Hotels has granted a more modern, tailored aesthetic to each of the 168 bedrooms and 20 suites, some of which boast working fireplaces or views of Edinburgh Castle. Fuel your passion with a meal at The Balmoral’s Michelin-starred Number One restaurant, where you can cozy up side by side on a velvet banquet. Or order one of the hotel’s personalized “Posh Picnics” for two and enjoy it atop an overlook like Arthur’s Seat or Calton Hill, feasting your eyes on the views while filling your belly with local delicacies like Haggis wontons, Scottish salmon or chocolate-dipped strawberries with a bottle of Bollinger.

Rates: “Simply Romance” package (from $458 through April) includes full Scottish breakfast, rose petal turn-down, bath ritual experience, chocolate-dipped strawberries and Champagne, and use of The Balmoral Spa, voted Scotland’s top Day Spa in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Spa Awards 2008. Rooms from $582. www.roccofortecollection.com

The Imperial: Vienna, Austria
At The Imperial, a Luxury Collection Hotel featuring 79 rooms and 59 suites, the guestbook reads like an autograph collection spanning the worlds of royalty, politics, film, fashion and music: Prince Charles, Hillary Clinton, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Sophia Loren, Claudia Schiffer, Mick Jagger, George Harrison … and the list goes on. Originally built as a palace for the Duke of Wurttemberg, this classic Viennese hotel opened in 1873 and is saturated with deluxe touches.

A two-story lobby with an expansive marble floor and glittering crystal chandeliers opens into a capacious salon, where plaster cherubs fairly stagger beneath the weight of fruit-laden swag reliefs and intimate niches invite discreet canoodling. The grand staircase is a study in opulence, with red carpeting, regal columns and the alluring statue of a nymph, all vying for attention. For the ultimate royal experience, book one of the aptly named Royal Suites, where the walls wear silk, the bathrooms are wall-to-wall marble and the upholstery tends toward cut velvet. This is luxury fit not only for a Duke, but for a King — and his Queen.

Rates: “Imperial Moments of Magic” (from $2,842 for two nights) includes Champagne breakfast, in-suite massage for two, rose-flower bath, in-suite dinner served by your personal butler, horse-drawn carriage tour of the city with a picnic basket, and departure gift. Rooms from $501. www.luxurycollection.com/imperial

Il Palazzo: Venice, Italy
The silvery water of the Grand Canal laps at the dock of the Bauer Il Palazzo, stirred by the nimble stroke of a passing gondolier, as guests alight from the hotel’s private boat. Red carpeting stretches along the dock toward the 18th-century Venetian palace, where arched lancet windows seem to survey the scene with raised brows. Inside, the lobby is handsomely adorned with wood paneling, antique Chinoiserie panels and Venetian glass candelabras, more closely resembling an aristocrat’s living room than a hotel. Many of the 44 rooms and 38 suites also incorporate classic Italian details, such as painted cherubs on the ceiling, Venetian plaster walls and Rococo reliefs. It’s a mysterious, seductive little universe, with secret staircases, sweeping views and richly textured surfaces that tempt you to touch. Casanova — one of the world’s most legendary lovers (and a Venetian, naturally) — would still feel at home here today.

Rates: “St. Valentine’s” package (from $2,529 for three nights between Feb. 12 and 17) includes welcome cocktail, a bottle of Prosecco, homemade sweets, daily breakfast, candlelight dinner, gondola tour, and complimentary access to rooftop Jacuzzi and fitness center. Rooms from $816. www.bauerhotels.com